Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ effort to overhaul opposition SYRIZA party’s lead before the elections in less than three weeks is running out of steam, polls show.
SYRIZA is on course to get 31.6 per cent of votes in the January 25 ballot, compared with 28.6 per cent for the premier’s New Democracy, according to a poll by Alco, an Athens-based polling company, for To Pontiki newspaper on Thursday. That represents a narrowing of SYRIZA’s lead from 3.3 percentage points in the last survey, published December 27, and both parties have gained at the expense of smaller rivals, with third-placed Potami now at 4.2 per cent.

SYRIZA’s lead over New Democracy “has narrowed slightly”, Costas Panagopoulos, Alco’s CEO, said in a phone interview. “But it’s a solid lead which won’t be overturned easily.”

Samaras faces an uphill task to be re-elected in this month’s snap ballot, after failing to get a three-fifths majority of lawmakers in the country’s 300-seat Parliament to back his pick to fill the country’s ceremonial presidency. Greeks worn down by years of austerity are turning to SYRIZA, which says it wants to roll back budget cuts and write down some of Greece’s debt.

The Alco poll was one of three published since late Wednesday, each showing SYRIZA with a lead of at least three points. A GPO survey for Mega Channel put SYRIZA, led by Alexis Tsipras, at 28.5 per cent and New Democracy at 25.3 per cent, while a Pulse poll for Action24 website had SYRIZA at 29 per cent and New Democracy at 25.5 per cent.

All three polls showed the Movement of Democratic Socialists, founded by former prime minister George Papandreou on January 3 after he broke from PASOK, the party founded by his father Andreas, failing to get into parliament. Alco put his support at 2.5 per cent, less than the 3 per cent minimum threshold, compared with 3.6 per cent for PASOK.

“It seems that it’s a party which is going to get 1 to 3 per cent,” Nikos Marantzidis, a pollster and professor of political science at the University of Macedonia in the northern city of Thessaloniki, said last week, before Papandreou’s announcement.

“For symbolic, historical, organisational or other reasons, it may get more votes than expected, maybe 3 to 5 per cent. In that case, it will surely get voters from SYRIZA. If it gets less than 3 per cent, only PASOK will be damaged.”

Source: Kathimerini